If you are an Android mobile
phone or device user, then you probably have the common headache of a majority
of android smart phone users, high data
consumption. I once heard an android device user describe his device as
"a black-hole designed with only one thing in mind, to 'suck up' his data
bundle" - honestly, that android user could be me.
But after a little research, I
can now use my mobile device comfortably without bordering about my data bundle
because I have learnt a few tricks on how to reduce data consumption on my
device. If you are having the android data consumption headache that I once
had, this article is for you. Follow the steps below to reduce
data consumption on your android mobile phone/device:
- TURN OFF
THE AUTO-SYNC OPTION
This is actually a very important
way of controlling data consumption in android. This effectively controls data
consumption across all Apps on your device although I recommend that this be
used as a temporary method not a permanent solution. For example, when you are
using your device or mobile phone for only a specific activity online (hence
not needing other online services at the moment), turn off auto sync that way,
the services you are not currently using will not drain your data. Here are the
steps to take:
>> Go to settings
>> Select Data Usage
>> Select the menu on the
right below your screen
>> Deselect the auto-sync
button.
Here, you can also restrict
background data consumption which is also very important in conserving your
data bundle. You may decide to ignore the warning since it is only a temporary
measure which you can undo easily later on.
Alternatively, you can view your
active accounts and decide on the appropriate ones to turn off auto-sync. Here
are the steps to take:
>> Go to settings
>> Select the Account
option
>> Here you can turn off/on
the individual sync options for your active accounts.
You can also choose to
turn-off more specific auto sync options within your accounts. For example, you
can turn off auto sync for calendar, Gmail or contacts etc, within your Google
account.
2. RESTRICT BACKGROUND DATA FOR
INDIVIDUAL APPS
This is a more specific way of
dealing with high data consumption in android devices. In this method, what you
do is to investigate the consumption of the individual Apps and determine if
anyone is consuming high amount of data. The one reason why an App may be consuming
too much data is because it is continually running in the background. If this
is the case, you can restrict this. Here is how to go about this: |
>> Go to settings
>> Select the Data Usage
option
>> Tap the Identified
Network button
>> Select any of the Apps
shown to see both its foreground and background data consumption and decide whether to restrict background
data. If this is necessary, simply:
>> Select the ‘Restrict
Background Data’ button.
3.DISABLE AUTOMATIC UPDATE APPS
(Update apps over Wi-Fi only)
Nothing consumes data on android
more than auto-update of Apps. Almost on daily basis, Android will ask
permission to update your Apps. Turn off auto updates and update individual
Apps on a need-to-basis. You can also choose to automatically update your Apps
only when Wi-Fi connection is available. Here is what to do:
>> Go to Google Play Store
on Your Device
>> Swipe left to view your
Google Play store Account Details and settings
>> Select Settings and Tap
on Auto-Update Apps
>> Select 'Auto-Update Apps
Over Wi-Fi only'
This should effectively reduce
your data consumption
4.BROWSERS AND BROWSER SETTINGS
Browsers, especially those that
come pre-loaded on android by default have been fingered as being guilty of
high data consumption. The two things you can do here are:
i. Get another Browser that
consumes less data or
ii. Tweak the default settings of
your present browser.
Both will work well for data
conservation. If you choose to use another browser, I’d strongly recommend
Opera mini which you can also tweak.
If you choose to use Opera Mini
do the following to reduce data consumption:
>> Launch the App
>> Go to settings
>> Choose either to turn
off images (recommended for maximum result) or reduce image quality
However, if you choose to
continue using your default android browser, to reduce data consumption:
>> Launch the App
>> Go to setting
>> Select Bandwidth
Management and
>> Deselect the 'Load
image' option
Furthermore, you can also save on
data consumption by choosing to restrict preloading of web pages in the
background from the same environment. Just
>> Tap on Web Page
Preloading and select 'Never'
OTHER STEPS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER
5. Turn off your internet connection when you are not using
it
6. You can choose to download heavy files like audio, video
and games using only Wi-Fi if it is readily available.
7. You can also choose to use slower connections like Edge
and GSM where available.
If all else fails ....
8. MAKE USE OF DATA MANAGEMENT APP
Get a data management
App like Onavo Extend and use it to compress data before download
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